Mircea Monroe on Drive

There are so many characters on Drive that I could do all the research in the world and still get them mixed up. So I just asked the actors for help. Mircea Monroe was the first Driver I met and she forgave me for outright asking her who she played on the show.

Mircea Monroe Talks Drive

"Oh, don’t be sorry at all," she said. "I ask that all the time. My character is Ellie and actually Riley and I are married, Riley Smith. We’re from Arkansas and he’s in the military and he’s just come home. What we know at this point is I kind of want to keep him from going back to Iraq, but then things morph and change. I’m still finding out, just yesterday I found out new information but I don't know what’s going to stick and these changes. With this you can move cars so your team can change, so Riley and I won’t necessarily stay together which is sad because he’s awesome."

Despite the Arkansas background, Monroe is not putting on an accent. "I initially had done one and then they decided it was more real and just organic, I don't know. Riley has a tiny little one but I think it’s still believable. I kind of wanted to but I guess it came across as kind of too obvious and cliché, and very dimpled cheerleader like. I don't know how to articulate it, just act it out."

Poor guys know all too well how much women love fast cars, so Drive is only bound to aggravate the situation. Monroe may be our dream girl though. "I could care less about cars. I am buying one right now so I’ve been researching, my car is such a piece of crap. I’ve been in so many wrecks, it’s dented on every side. It’s nuts. I have to borrow a car because it’s so from the last wreck I was in, it ruined the radiator and it can blow up or something. But I can appreciate why people like cars that are nice. I’m just excited to get power windows and air conditioning and a radio because my radio’s been out for almost a year. I’m going insane."

At least on Drive, all the actually driving is added in later. Monroe only has to react in front of a green screen. "I think it’s difficult. I think that it’s not organic and you’ve got the makeup people in front of you smiling or whatever, like you’ve got people right there."